in·sur·gent (n-sûrjnt)
adj.
One who acts contrary to the established leadership (as of a political party, union, or corporation) or its decisions and policies

Saturday, February 18, 2006

The Forgotten Christians

So many in America forget that the Palestinian community has a strong Christian contingent. Indeed, the holy rollers of the Republican party who profess to care for persecuted Christians around the world ignore the plight of their co-religionists time and time again. The following is an open letter from a reverend in Bethlehem to Hillary "I Worship The Devil" Clinton:

Greetings From Bethlehem

Greetings to you from Bethlehem, the birthplace of our Lord, Jesus Christ, the center of the world for billions of Christians in the 2000 years since the Word became flesh, and the home of a dwindling population of Palestinian Christians who, despite the continued pressures of living under Israeli policies of occupation and segregation, still hold onto their lands and dignity.

I was encouraged when I met your husband here in Bethlehem in 1999, during the preparations for the Bethlehem 2000 millennium celebrations. I was also encouraged when in 1998 you said that “it will be in the long-term interests of the Middle East for Palestine to be a state,” a conviction which is shared today by the entire international community, including many Israelis.

I was surprised last week when I saw your picture in Haaretz (Nov. 15, 2005), which was taken near the wall, just outside our town. I know that many Palestinians would have loved to welcome you in their homes in Bethlehem, but you did not come to visit us. Perhaps you simply did not have time to stop by and greet us, the people who would be the other half of any agreement which would allow Israel to live in security and peace. Or perhaps while you had Bethlehem in the background of the publicity photos, you had certain of your constituents in New York in the forefront of your mind. In one month’s time you will be singing “O Little Town of Bethlehem.” I wonder how you will sing it this year, having declared your support for transforming our “little town” into a big, open-air prison, leaving no green space for our children to play or our olive trees to grow?

Your comment that the Wall “is not against the Palestinian people…[it] is against terrorists” is deeply offensive in its ignorance and glossy portrayal of the effects of Israeli policy in the West Bank. We would like you to know that the wall is affecting the daily life of every Palestinian person, not only in our town but throughout the West Bank. The wall is less about security than it is about colonizing land and controlling its indigenous population. It is designed to allow maximum expansion for Israeli settlements (which are unequivocally illegal under international law) and minimal space for Palestinian towns and villages to grow or even draw their livelihood. The wall is limiting Bethlehem to an area of about 6 square miles, while the settlements which surround us continue to expand on stolen Palestinian land.

After taking such a courageous standpoint in 1998, why are you suddenly abandoning international law, the consensus of the international community, Christian notions of justice and reconciliation, and the American values of freedom and dignity which you have sworn to uphold? Please do not try to gain political support at the expense of the Palestinian people.

We thank God for all of our American friends who visit us, work with us, support us, and help us build bridges, not walls. You will be hearing from some of them, those who are your constituents in New York, and we hope you will listen to what they have to say. We are not asking for your pity, but we do ask you to reconsider your position in support of the wall, which is illegal and violates our rights to land, jobs, family, free movement, dignity, and self-determination. These are American values, and we merely implore you to ensure that they are upheld here.

Sincerely,Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Bethlehem

Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb is pastor of Bethlehem’s Christmas Lutheran Church and general director of The International Center of Bethlehem and Dar al-Kalima Academy. His books Bethlehem Besieged, I Am a Palestinian Christian and Bethlehem 2000 (co-authored with Fred Strickert) are available from the AET Book Club.

This is why I love your blog. It's very thought-provoking. Nobody ever thinks about Christians in the Middle East, yet there they are - in the town of Jesus' birth. (Go figure.)

Anyway, I'd like to point out something I read in the letter, which to me, reads like a modern day epistle:

"...Christian notions of justice and reconciliation, and the American values of freedom and dignity which you have sworn to uphold?" - Rev. Dr. Mitri Raheb, Bethlehem

I think both of these concepts are taken out of context. Jesus said, "Reneder unto Ceasar, the things which are Ceasar's and render unto God, the things which are God's."

The Christian notions of Justice and Reconciliation are a myth. Jesus also said, "I have come to divide mother against daughter, father against son, neighbor against neighbor."

This is probably a notion that nobody else supports, but I have a long-held belief that the Roman Empire never really died. Look at our money: references to the Middle East and the Latin language are all over it. I think America is the modern-day Roman Empire.

So, what does that have to do with your post? Well, I think that people twist scripture around to fit their own agendas, but when you actually look at it, Christianity is not for the weak of heart as those who profess it to be a religion of pacifists would like everyone to believe.

On the links to Biblegateway: there's an icon between the VCR buttons that looks like a scroll. Use that to look at the whole chapter, so you can see for yourself what I quoted, was not taken out of context.

BTW: read Tim Wise's articles. Well, not all of them, but 3 to be more precise.

I like his message. There is one thing I tend to disagree with him about: he criticizes people who say racial harmony is something we all want, but we go about it different ways. Tim thinks this is a cop-out.

I don't think so. I happen to feel that African-Americans can be (and sometimes are) just as racist as anyone else on the planet.

I lived on the near-east side of Columbus, Ohio. I've been around downtown Detroit. I've been invited by a member to an AME church that had a spaghetti dinner, only to see the women whispering in hushed tones, "Can you believe that honkey had enough nerve to come here?" It was accepted. I didn't even mind. Didn't bother me, but it does add to my point.

I've walked around downtown Detroit. One time, I was at a White Castle restaurant there. I was near the front of the line when the line started to get big. When it was my turn, I placed my order, and people who showed up 15 minutes after I did, were getting their food. When I complained, the employees acted like I was being a pain, and I had to wait even longer. When I finally got my order, it wasn't what I ordered.

When I pointed this out, the employees started rolling their eyes, and slamming stuff around, like they were about to get violent if I didn't just leave.

My brother (who used to live in the near-east side along with me) gave an African-American co-worker a ride home from work, because that guy's car was in the shop. My brother asked me to follow him in my car. When we got to that guy's apartment, I could see why. There was a street gang there, who surrounded my brother's car. They gave him a huge hassle, leaning into his car, telling him "white people aren't allowed in this sector at night," some of them were opening their trench coats, to reveal hand guns in shoulder holsters, while the one guy was basically going off on my brother. It was scary.

I think there's a fundemental difference between the cultures of whites and blacks. They both have a few things in common though.

For one, both cultures want to get their kids out of the house when they turn 18. You don't see as big of a push for that in other cultures. In other cultures, it seems more socially acceptable for someone to still live with their parents past the age of 18, without everyone thinking of them as losers. Not so with African-Americans and whites.

African-Americans and whites also seem to be more materialistic than other races.

African-Americans and whites also seem to be more racist than other races.

Those are the similarities.

In my opinion, the main differences are, African-Americans seem to be politically engrained with more of a socialist style of thinking, whites (at least in the past) have been more individualist in their approach to what role they think government should play in their lives.

African-Americans have more of a sense of community, and whites seem to want their privacy.

In my opinion, until those differences get resolved, the days of African-Americans and whites fighting for a common cause like they did in the Colonial Days, are closer than we think, but probably not as close as we'd like. But hey, these are just my opinions, and I realize that opinions are like a particular body part: every has one, and they all stink. (There, I said it before anyone else did.)

Hmmmm.... that's so much material to work with. I can only assume that your conceptions of blacks and whites are based upon those things to which you have been exposed, and there is validity to that. With respect to materialism, ALL people are materialistic. I now have 30 countries under my belt from traveling and I have yet to find a culture that isn't materialistic. Unfortunately, it is a curse of mankind. The only difference among cultures is which materials they place at the top of the altar for worship. Just because one culture values having 100 goats and another values accumulating 100 shares of Google does not make one less materialistic than the other.

Blacks and whites are just as racist as others, but the only parallel to the American/European brand of racism I have ever encountered is that of the Japanese. It is the brand of racism born of the strongly held --almost religious -- belief in your own racial superiority. Others are racist too, but it's often signified by scapegoating and blaming, but lacks that "manifest destiny" flavor.

The similarities between blacks and whites are born of the fact they are both American. Indeed, both groups are defined by color instead of by heritage and, thus, have created distinct American flavors of the past. In that there is much in common between the two groups. They are much more tied to America than other racial groups because they have no homeland, no other country to which they turn for inspiration or ancestral nostalgia.

When I was in junior high and applying for a magnet school, I went to my father and asked him if we were black or white so I could fill in the box on the application. He responded, we aren't black or white, that's a stupid American concept for people without a history or a heritage. At the time, I felt sorry for whites and blacks after that because they didn't have a "race" to call their own. Now as a grown up I can see the pros and cons of it.

African Americans are a amalgem of Africans and whites. We are neither Africans nor Europeans. We are a new, mixed-race--only 400 of so years in existence. We have the benefit of African culture and communal social ideas, which is represented in the closeness of our interactions, our music, and our politics. At the same time, unlike the Africans, we (now) have access to the white American machinery. Thanks to this, at any given time, 5 of the 10 most recognizable people in the world are African Americans. Muhammad Ali, Jordan, Oprah, Tiger Woods, etc.

Nobody knows white Americans like black Americans do. We could tell when Bush was lying about WMD because we've been watching white people lie for centuries. We know white history. We know how the white American thinks. I watch white people cheer black athletes and I giggle because I know that they are obsessed with the muscularity and sheen of black bodies, now, just as they were when the black bodies were displayed for all on the slave auction block. And I firmly believe that deep down white Americans are jealous of black Americans, for it is only natural for a person of privilege, deep inside, to desire to struggle.

Yeah, I know what you're talking about when you say the Japanese are a little stuck on themselves.

My wife and I honeymooned in Honolulu, and everything's in Japanese there except the street signs.

Everytime you read a brochure that says that a certain event is going to start at such and such time, what it really means is, it'll start at such and such time for the Japanese; everyone else's activities will start sometime afterward.

The worst case of racism was on our dinner cruise. We were supposed to be picked up at 5 at our hotel. We waited. 5 came around, a bus pulled up and opened the door. I started to get on. The bus driver put his hand out, indicating I should stop. I looked behind me, and from around the corner from where my wife and I were waiting, was a group of Japanese people impatiently waiting for me to get off the first step of the bus.

In very broken English, the driver said to me, "Yuh bus come lat-ur."

"Lat-ur" was 45 minutes later. We get to the dock, and the Japanese of course, are already on the ship. They're down on the first deck. Everyone else is on the top deck, but there's no awning to shade us. Not only that, but on the top deck, you notice the motion of the waves much more.

My wife started to get sea sick, and we had to go down below to the nurse's station. First time we saw how the other half was living on this dinner cruise.

Air conditioned, they got menus (we had good food handed to us, but there was no choice) and they had waiters in tuxedos - we had waitresses in grass skirts and coconut bras - which I didn't mind, but my wife did! (I still think we got the better end of the deal on that!)

It was just crazy. You should have seen the Japanese staring at us like we were somehow going to give them lepresy or something.

I've got 5 kids and as a result, I usually don't have time to read the archives of peoples' blogs. Would you please tell me how you've had occassion to travel the world so much? I'm really curious!

Do you think white Americans only lie to everyone but whites? Do you think I got a call from GWB where he gleefully explains to me (because I'm white,) "Don't worry: there aren't any WMDs, but we've got to fool the people of color, because me and Cheney get such a big hoot out of it!"?

And I'm not trying to play the role of Bush Administration apologist, but has it ever occurred to anyone, that Iran or Syria (or both) may have grabbed up the WMDs while Saddam was preoccupied with hiding himself?

Nah! I don't think those choir boys would ever try to take advantage of getting their hands on such power in the midst of all the chaos! No way!

I'm not saying that's how it went down, but wouldn't we all feel stupid if they did find a huge cache of WMDs in Syria or Iran, with Iraqi military logos all over them?

I'm not nuts about Bush either, but I certainly didn't get a "white-on-white" phone call, explaining to me how things are really working.

I do think Intellectual Insurgent is correct, when she says that the "powers-that-be" are pitting poor whites against poor blacks to keep us from coming together.

If whites could tap into the black community's self-righteous rage, and if the blacks could tap into the white community's cold calculation, the uber-rich in this country wouldn't have a chance - and they know it.

So let's keep on race-baiting, and stay divided, like the good little robots we're supposed to be. That's just what they want.

You said "If whites could tap into the black community's self-righteous rage, and if the blacks could tap into the white community's cold calculation, the uber-rich in this country wouldn't have a chance - and they know it."

The black community is not a monolith just as the white community is not. Not all the black community is self-righteous or has rage and the white community is not all cold and calculating. At least here in LA, I think it's quite the opposite. Gang members are cold and calculating. White Christian fanatics are the ones exhibiting the self-righteous rage these days - at least as we see in the media.

I don't think BOB is saying that Bush is telling whites a different story than that told to blacks. If I read the comment correctly, the point is that blacks aren't as quick to believe Bush's bullshit as whites are.

Traveling - many breaks from college and law school were spenttraveling and, since I started practicing, I have taken a minimum of 3-4 weeks each year of vacation. In my current job, I get 3-4 months off each year, which allows for extensive travel.

Yes, I understand that we have satellites that can read a license plate from outer space, but anybody can put anything they want, in a truck trailer labeled Toys-R-Us. Could the satellites see that? I doubt it.

The race-baiting assertion was a little over the top for me. I was just shocked that someone came out and started talking about "whites lying" all the time.

Whenever I read stuff like that, I imagine the person who authored it, to be wearing a halo or something. Like, blacks don't lie? Whites and blacks are good and evil. Whites lie to whites and blacks, blacks lie to whites and blacks.

Didn't the tribal leaders of Africa in the 1700 & 1800s look the other way when the British slave traders pilfered their tribes - because the tribal leaders may have been paid off?

If that's the case, aren't both blacks and whites equally culpable?

Then there's the modern-day tragedy of what's happening in the Darfur province of Sudan: is that the creation of whites?

We are being held back from coming together based on our differences rather than by what we have in common. That's a shame too. Like I strongly believe, if blacks and whites could unite to fight poverty and bring back a strong middle class, that's just what the "powers-that-be" don't want.

Ah, hell... I just wrote a rather long and angry comment about all this. I erased it before I hit the "publish" button.

In my neighborhood I'm often afraid of the people. Hispanic, Native, Vietnamese, Black, White, Moslem, Christian, both, neither, whatever. What I'm afraid of is not their race, nor their religion, but rather the desperation born of poverty that I see in their eyes. I may be wrong, but if we cure poverty (or perceived poverty, which is a completely different animal), after a generation or two the things that divide us will start to melt away.

I generally try to paint viewpoints with broad brush strokes. I might say "in general" without using absolutes.

Forgotten Christians? I don't want to get into the hypocracy angle, because I am tired of using it.

We have too many leaders who in my mind are morally bankrupt.

What matters most in the world is how you behave, and what you do when no one is looking. I would say our leaders have abandoned these forgotten Christians, they have abandoned the refugees on the whole in Darfur.

It's hard to walk in someone else's shoes. I was brought up in a upper middle class household, a WASP family, insulated in large part from the "real world".

It's a two edged sword, I had priviledges many didn't have, yet it came at a price, as I had limited exposure to the school of hard knocks.

Being a politician is tough, and not a life for me, that's for sure. It seems you either sell your soul, or do whatever it takes to get elected then maybe you go back to your core values. I do not like what Hillary has morphed in to. Either that or she's been this way all along.

That is not who I want in office. I want someone pragmatic, yet has an honest element of idealism as well.

Mr. Sleep:I've run for county commissioner in my county. When you "shoot from the hip," you get blind-sided by a press who's representing other interests; you know, the interests of the rich.

B.O.B.: yeah, like I said, I went a little too far on the race-baiting thing. Sometimes I type faster than I can process what I'm emoting. It may seem like a good thing to be able to type that fast, but it's a double-edged sword.

Thanks for agreeing!

Back to the running for office thing: I got blind-sided on a morning show whose audience is mostly ederly and farmers. The emcee did everything he could to make me look like a dolt - and he succeeded to the best of his abilities. By the time I realized that he wasn't kidding around, the damage had been done, and there wasn't enough time for me to spin my way out.

I learned a lesson from that though: the art of offering an answer to a question that was never asked. For example:

Emcee: "So, you're fat, old, ugly and uneducated; yet, you haven't allowed any of these traits to stop you from running for an office where you'll be responsible for a $35 million a year budget. How do you plan on getting enough of a clue to tie your shoes in the morning?"

Me: "Well, I'm glad you asked about the fluffy kittens I adopted at the humane society - you know, the ones that were about to be put to sleep just because the agency is underfunded. I've always instilled into my 5 beautiful children, the values of working hard to look out for the rights of the underpriveledged fluffy kittens. Thanks for asking about my kids, BTW!"

Sound like a plan? Maybe I shouldn't be tipping my hand in case someone out there really knows who I am!

Possum - thanks for the link. There is also another book called "Don't Play In the Sun", written by a dark-skinned black woman describing the advice her light-skinned mother gave her so she wouldn't get any darker.

It hit home for me because Arabs have the same light-skinned/dark-skinned dichotomy. My white-skinned mother used to have a fit when my sister and I would layout in the sun to tan. She would always say "you're already dark enough".

Turns out Asians have the same hangups. Thailand drug stores have skin-bleaching creams stocked on the shelves and, in Hong Kong, I saw commercials for skin-bleaching creams that started "my friends are so jealous by how white my skin is...."

Ironic that whites in America try to get tan and everyone else is trying to lighten. Gotta love humanity and the nonsensical pursuits.

Who are they looking down on? The every day Christians who fart and burp and occassionaly cuss. Those who go through great lengths to hide their sins because they put on a front like they're too good to sin - these people are why the Church isn't growing.

I can't tan so I learned never to aspire to that. I freckle, or just burn and peel. If you came up to Northern California to see me now, you'd have to wear sunglasses to protect your eyes from the glare of the sun bouncing off my pale skin.

Think Ron Howard, more hair, two inches taller, and 40 more pounds to lug around, and there you have it.

Ok, I'm not adding to the conversation, but everyone has hangups to deal with. Yes we all have our baggage. I just tell my kids, "life ain't fair, so learn to deal with it". "You have to learn to find your way, and at least learn from some of the mistakes your parents made along the way".

I would like to see someone start a thread, or an analysis on the herd mentality of the Conservatives out there. You would think they would be up in arms with what's going on. Ok, I know they don't shop at Walmart, so they go to Restoration Hardware instead to get their designer Tar, and Feathers.

And as the picture focused in, you could see the writing on the headstone, and it gave his awards - Purple Heart, Bronze Star - showed that he died in Iraq, gave his date of birth, date of death, he was 20 years old. And then at the very top of the head stone, it didn't have a Christian cross. It didn't have a Star of David. It has a crescent and star of the Islamic faith.
And his name was Kareem Rashad Sultan Khan. And he was an American. He was born in New Jersey. He was fourteen years old at the time of 9/11, and he waited until he could serve his country and he gave his life.